


RWBY Crack House

by Angry_Face



Category: RWBY
Genre: Drabble Collection, Hurt/Comfort, Little Bit of Everything, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:35:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23217877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angry_Face/pseuds/Angry_Face
Summary: A collection of Drabbles and shorts of rare pairs, crack ships and OT3s in different AUs.Welcome to the RWBY Crack House. How may I take your order?
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Sun Wukong/Yang Xiao Long, Cinder Fall/Taiyang Xiao Long, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	1. You Always Need A Sun And A Moon Pt. I

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the RWBY Crack House. How may I take your order?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Order up!
> 
> Sun/Blake/Yang with a slice of angst.

**_You Always Need A Sun_ **  
**_And A Moon_ **

_Pt.I_

* * *

He woke up with a nudge to his side, alerting him to any possible threat. Looking around the dark bedroom, Sun was hyper-focused on anything that was about to hurt him.

"She's awake again," came Blake's sleepy murmur. All at once, his body relaxed, and he let out a groan as he snuggled tightly to her under the blankets of their bed. His tail wrapped around to coil around her waist protectively as he tried to fall back asleep in her arms again. "You should go check on her, your better at that stuff than me," She was right, of course, but it did not mean that he was not upset about being rudely woken like that.

With a groan, Sun pulled himself out of his warm bed and began to quietly walk through the small home towards the source of Blake's discomfort. If she woke him up, that only meant she had been awake at the first sound threatening to boil over. Being a sensitive sleeper does that to people as he had learned and knowing Blake, she would not be able to fall asleep unless he helped now. Reaching the kitchen, he turned on the light that illuminated the person who woke her up in the first place.

Yang flinched at the sudden illumination of the kitchen that spilled over into the small living room, divided only by border of tile and carpet and a tiny island that sat between the two rooms. She sat on the couch, a blanket was thrown off, and the pillow looked like it had been punched a few times. Yang had dark lines under her eyes, and her hair was dishevelled. She looked like she had just gotten out of a fight, and if what Ruby said was true, she probably had been fighting in her sleep since they came back.

"Hey," he yawned as he scratched his bare stomach and wandered around the small kitchen.

"Hey," she replied as she rubbed her face. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nah," he pulled a glass from the cupboard and began to run some water from the sink. "I needed some water," He never liked lying to Yang, but if he told her the truth, she would probably feel even worse about sleeping on their couch for the last week and a half. "What about you? Why are you up?" He turned the sink off and took a sip of crisp cold water. The chill woke him up a bit as Yang struggled to find her words.

"I, uh. Had a nightmare,"

Tonight and every night since you've gotten here…

He did not want to say that out loud. He knew how vulnerable Yang was to certain things, and this was one of them. Instead, he just nodded and set a kettle to boil some water while they waited. "Blake always says that tea helps calm the mind, I'll make you some."

"No, it's fine,"

"Too late, water's already boiling." He said as he pulled two mugs from Blake's overfilled section of the kitchen and set them to the side. "I know what'll fix you right up, though," He said with a smile as he opened up another small cabinet filled to the brim with half-empty boxes of all of Blake's teas. "The ol' Sun special" that at least got a smile out of her as she raised her eyebrow.

"The Sun special? What makes it so special?"

"I take two teabags at random and toss them in together." To prove his point, he kept his eyes on her while his tail went to work on grabbing two bags at random and tossed them into one mug then repeated it for the second one.

"Doesn't that taste terrible?"

"Not all the time, sometimes I get some pretty good combos, but I don't know which two they are so, oh well." He smiled as the kettle gave a click, and he poured the water and took both mugs to the couch. "Plus, Blake keeps buying more boxes of tea before finishing off what she already has here, so if anything, I'm helping her."

"You're enabling her bad habits of buying tea," Yang laughed as she accepted the mug and took a small sip. Setting down next to her, Sun leaned back and kicked his bare feet onto the table and nodded.

"Well, I think it's a good compromise compared to her book addiction," That actually got a chuckle out of Yang as she settled back next to him and nodded. The silence dragged on, and he watched the smile disappear just as quickly as it appeared, and her eyes start to stare out at nothing. Sun knew that look, and he sighed. "You wanna talk about it?" his voice was gentle in the night.

She did not answer. Instead, she tapped at the mug with her metal finger, filling the room with nervous energy. Sun knew he had to choose his words carefully now like he was diffusing a bomb. The wrong word would either make Yang completely explode in fire and anger or shut her down entirely and disappear without a word.

The tapping stopped, and Yang took a breath. "What did Ruby tell you guys?"

Everything.

Sun remembered the frantic phone call to Blake out of the blue that day. Ruby called, saying that Yang grabbed a bag and ran out of their shared apartment as soon as they got back from a mission. She then told the couple precisely what had happened, and the two of them started getting things ready. Their small apartment did not have a spare bedroom, but they had a couch and plenty of extra pillows. Blake sent him out to pick up some food, and by the time he came back, Yang was already there, looking scared and unsure of where to go. She did not even shower from her mission.

Every night since she came to them, Yang had nightmares. Both Sun and Blake did their best to respect Yang's right to privacy, but it was getting worse. This was the first time either of them really got anywhere when they tried to reach out to Yang to talk about it. Sun just hoped he did not screw it up, or Blake would never forgive him.

"Not really," He shrugged. "Just a few things, but whatever happened out there has you really spooked."

Yang was silent again, he could see her jaw tensing and her human hand shaking with the mug still being held. Her breathing was coming in shallow and fast. He could see tears starting to form in her eyes as she struggled to stay calm. "I'm supposed to be her big sister," A whisper through gritted teeth. "I'm supposed to protect her! And I- I almost…"

Sun acted fast. He took Yang's mug out of her hands with his tail and set it next to his on the table before he pulled her into a hug. She clung to his skin as he tucked her face into his shoulder and squeezed tightly. Strangled sobs came from her throat as she tried to keep her voice as quiet as she could, and she clung to Sun like he would disappear from her grip. Silently, he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down. He knew if he had tried this before, she probably would have pulled his spine out with his tail if she ever caught him.

He did not know how long he sat with her, whispering reassurances to her until she had finally calmed down. He held her until he felt her release his body and pushed herself back up. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she leaned back again and shook her head. "I'm sorry about that,"

"Hey, it's fine," He smiled as he used one of the napkin stacks on the table to dry the tears on his skin. "Sometimes you just got to let it out, ya know?" She just nodded as she picked up her mug and took a careful sip from it.

"Thank you,"

"Hey, anytime and every time. Better now?" Sun smiled at Yang as he stood up and picked up his tea. She nodded, and he smiled more. "Good, have a good night,"

"You too,"

With a smile, he finally took a sip from his drink, only to spit it back out. "Ugh, that tastes like boiled tree leaves," He complained as he walked back to the kitchen to dump the now, lukewarm liquid.

"That's what tea is, banana brain," It was nice to hear her laugh again. Yang always looked so wrong when she was not smiling.

"Yeah, well, it still tastes like licking a tree."

At Yang's request, he left the light on before making his way back to Blake in their bedroom. As soon as he climbed in, Blake wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close to her. Getting comfortable, he ran his hand up and down her back as she rested her head on his chest. "How is she?" She asked.

"She needs help," Sun whispered in the darkness of the room.

"It's a good thing she's got us then," Blake yawned as her ears finally stopped twitching to every little sound Yang was making in the other room. Sun replied with the same response to when his friends ask for help, when Blake asked him if he loved her and when anyone asks if he was there for them:

"Always,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to order something, please let me know either in the comments or on my Tumblr at AngeryFaceWritings.
> 
> If you enjoyed, leave a Kudo! If you already have, leave a comment! I love reading them and I love replying to them. This story is also posted on FF.net under the same name. So if you read there as well, come show your support!
> 
> And as always, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my slice of madness!


	2. TinderBox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Taiyang/Cinder story for CanonSeeker on Tumblr.
> 
> Order Up!

Laughter filled the air as Taiyang sat at a small patio table of a local cafe in Patch. Across from him was a wonderful woman he had met a few weeks ago while he was in town getting groceries. A woman with one arm and half a face was trying to put apples in a bag at the marketplace when he watched her drop everything. Being the kind man that he is, Taiyang was quick to help her collect the fruit, even if she was quite rude and short with him as she walked away without even a thank you.

The next day, he met her again. This time trying to pay for some house basics. He was just walking up to the line when he overheard that her cards had insufficient funds.

"Try it again!" The woman growled as she refused to release the bag from her white-knuckled grip.

"Ma'am, this is the third time I've tried them, they're empty,"

Before the situation could escalate, Taiyang placed his own cards on the counter with a smile. "It's fine, I can cover for her," He turned to the woman and saw her single amber eye staring at him. Pulling the bag towards herself, she uddered a small 'thanks' before storming out of the store. He and the cashier gave each other a look and shrugged. At least she thanked him this time.

"Someone, you know?" The cashier asked him as she rang his items.

"Bumped into her yesterday, but never before that," Thought the large window, he watched the mysterious woman dip into an alleyway after making sure no one was watching her. He could see it in the way she carried herself, she is a Huntress. Or at least was one. It would be hard to continue that profession without an arm and an eye, even with the advances in technology.

The third time he met her, he walked past the laundromat on his way home from Signal when he saw her through the window. She had a pile of clothes sitting on the bench next to her, and she was staring at the washing machine in front of her like it was some sort of new Grimm. He studied her for a brief moment before walking inside and coming up beside her. "Having problems?" He asked, making her jump and spin around at him.

His body reacted before he could realize what was happening and came face to face with a glowing red dagger stopped inches away from his face by his own hand holding her wrist. They stared at each other for a moment before he gave out a burst of nervous laughter. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to startle you," She yanked her hand away from him as the knife disappeared just as quickly as it formed.

"Are you following me?" She yelled.

"No! No! Why would you think that?"

"Because this is the third day in a row we've met and I'm started to get annoyed,"

"Okay, yeah that does look kinda bad on my part," Taiyang admitted, "But, I saw you struggling and just wanted to help,"

"I don't need your help," She snapped at him. "And I don't need your charity," She began to angrily shove the clothing into the machine and was about to toss the scoop full of detergent in, but he quickly got it out of her hand.

"First off, that's not how that works," He ignored the sounds of protest as he put the correct settings and put the powder into the little slot it was designed for. "And secondly, I did mean to offend you. Let me make it up to you," He set the scoop down and leaned against the machine as it started to turn on and fill with water.

"And how are you planning on doing that?" She asked with a scowl. He saw how she tried to fold her arms but fumbled a bit and settled her free hand on the other side of her chest. The confidence and fire that was in her eye faded a bit, but she stood her ground.

"Let me take you to dinner," He said simply. While he was content with just living his life, with his daughters getting older, he was beginning to miss the feeling of coming home to someone other than Zwei at the end of the day. As he expected, the woman was utterly caught off from request.

"What!"

In defence, Taiyang lifted his hands and took a step back. "You don't have to, you can even think about it," He said as he began to make his way towards the door. "Tomorrow, I'll be at the fountain in the square. If you want to have dinner, I'll be there by six, if not you'll hopefully never see me again!" Giving her a choice as he made his way to the door, he stopped and gave her a smile before leaving. As he was going, he could not help but notice that one of the shirts she had in her pile looked a lot like the shirt that one of his colleges said had gone missing last week.

The next day came, and Taiyang was sitting at the fountain for the last hour after he said he would be there and sighed in defeat. He took a chance, and it did not payout, but no one could say he did not try. As he was standing up from his spot, however, he saw the woman approaching him with a bit of nervousness in her step. With a smile, he let her approach and saw that she was looking everywhere but him.

"My name is Taiyang, by the way,"

"Cinder," She said finally.

"Well, Cinder, I know a great place for seafood,"

And so it was for the last few weeks, they've had a few dates and talked whenever they could. It was hard since she did not have a Scroll, but that did not stop them from meeting up for a few minutes every day to just chat before leaving to live their lives. Little by little, Cinder was starting to come out of her shell, and he could tell she was enjoying his company. There was nothing that could dim his mood tonight.

* * *

Yang could not believe what she was seeing. Her father was sitting at a cafe table with _Cinder Fall,_ and he was _laughing_. They both were! Hiding behind a bush, she and Ruby just stared at the scene in front of them. "What the hell is this!" Ruby hissed as they both kept out of sight.

"When I told dad maybe it was time to start seeing someone again, this was not what I had in mind," Yang sighed as she checked to see how many rounds of ammo she had on her.

"But she's dead! We killed her!" Ruby carefully took her weapon her and did the same, pulling the breach back to see if it had a round chambered. Before they could go on the offensive, another voice chimed in.

"That's what you get for not checking the body," Spinning in place, Yang saw Mercury squatting next to her, looking unimpressed. Next to him was his partner Emerald, who was looking over his shoulder at Yang.

"You guys suck at stealth, by the way," She said with a shake of her head.

"What the hell are you two doing here!" Yang hissed to not draw attention to them.

"Trying to figure out where our boss kept going while leaving us in the safehouse all the time," Mercury said as he eyed up the ongoing date, "And now we see that she's been getting all lovey-dovey with dad shorts over there,"

"Hey, that's my dad!" Ruby pointed a finger at Mercury.

"My point still stands,"

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway, cause we need to break this up, right, Yang?" Before Yang could agree with Ruby, boisterous laughter came from the table. Looking over at her father, she saw the smile reach across his entire face, his shoulders were bouncing with every chuckle, the people around them were giving him looks, but he continued anyway, even Cinder was laughing gently.

"Ruby, when was the last time we saw dad this happy?" Yang asked.

"What?"

"Look at him, we've never seen him like this before, not since before mom died. This isn't the face he puts on for us; this is the first time I've seen him happy, genuinely happy in so long. I can't do that to him, not after everything that's happened,"

"Yang," Ruby grabbed her sister's shoulders and forced her to look into Ruby's eyes. "This is Cinder we're talking about, we can't let her get close to dad,"

"I'm with short stuff here," Mercury pointed out. "Right, Em?" He looked back at Emerald but found that she, too, was looking at the date with a look in her eyes.

"She's never laughed like that before," She said, looking at the couple. "This is the happiest I've ever seen her, Merc. I can't take that away from her."

"You've got to be kidding me," Mercury said as Emerald took her stand.

"You too?" Ruby watched as Emerald stood, and Yang does the same. "Yang, it's Cinder!"

"I know, Rubes, but I can't come between them,"

Ruby and Mercury stood and faced their foes. "It's treason then," Without another word, Ruby began to walk away, followed by Mercury with a look Yang could not place. When they were out of sight, Yang let out a breath she was holding and shook her head at how dramatic Ruby was being.

"This is ridiculous," She said as she and Emerald retook their overlook positions. "Are you sure about this? I know what Cinder means to you,"

"If this is who she's happy with, I can live with that," The woman said as she took one last look at Cinder and her father before looking at Yang. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, Ruby and Mecury are quick, so they're going to hit hard and fast, and we need to be ready for anything.

* * *

His laughter filled the air while Cinder tried and failed to laugh with him. The joke was terrible, but his pure joy was contagious. Holding a napkin to her mouth, stopping the food inside from spewing out. Just seeing her do that set the man into an even louder fit of laughter. "Stop laughing!" Cinder cried out, embarrassed that she almost lost her mouthful of food.

"I'm sorry, but that's just too funny," The large man finally quieted down and wiped a tear from his eye. When Cinder finally swallowed her food, she wiped her lips and shook her head.

"I should know better than to take a bite in the middle of one of _your_ stories," She said with a sip of water. Her own statement brought to mind how many dates they had been on—little over a month of this back and forth between them, and she honestly never been happier.

"I'm just happy to tell them. I'm sure everyone else on the island is sick of me telling them for the seventh time," He chuckled as he cleaned the last fries off his plate and set the utensils on top. Likewise, Cinder finished her salad, and he set her plate on top of his before he waved to the waiter walking around for their check. There was a lull in their conversation, she could tell he was a little nervous about something on his mind, but she did not want to pry.

"So," He began after clearing his throat. "I don't suppose I offer you a glass of wine back at my house?"

With how nervous he was behaving, Cinder would be lying if she did not admit it was just a little cute. For a father of two and a seasoned Huntsmen to become nervous for asking a woman to share a bottle of wine was amusing. Humming in thought, she leaned back in her seat and looked away, debating an answer she already knew.

"Well, I don't know…" She smiled while giving him a look. "Maybe something to sweeten the deal?"

"Ice cream?" He offered. Cinder let out another laugh and gave a nod.

"Sounds wonderful,"

* * *

"So, what's the plan?" Mercury asked as the two walked around the corner. Ruby sighed and rubbed her head.

"I don't know," She finally admitted. "My original plan was just to run up and tell dad everything that Cinder has done, but with Yang and Emerald blocking up, we need to find a way to get dad to dump her,"

"We just need to make her mad," Mercury said after a moment. "Even the most patient person won't be able to stand against when she goes feral."

"Perfect," Ruby nodded as she looked over at her dad and Cinder as they got up from the table and start to leave. Watching them walk, Ruby felt disgusted at how her dad was holding Cinder's only hand as they began to walk under a tree. Looking up into the leaves, Ruby saw apples ready for picking, dangling by their stems, ready to fall with the slightest breeze.

Perfect.

Rushing to the tree, Ruby sprinted towards it and jumped up to kick the tree, making the fruit fall off and shower Cinder with apples, undoubtedly causing her temper to flare. Before she could make contact, however, a streak of yellow met her in the air and dropped her to the ground. Holding her down, Yang looked around the tree and saw the couple walking safely under the tree.

"Sorry, sis. Gotta do better than that," She said with a smile, putting just enough pressure on Ruby to keep her in place without hurting her.

"While you got me, Who's going to get him?" Ruby asked with a grin. Yang widened her eyes as she looked up and saw Mercury sprinting towards the same tree. With her pinning Ruby, she could not stop the man from kicking the tree, but both sisters watched as Mercury miss entirely and fall onto the ground with a thud.

"Damn it, Emerald!" Looking over, Ruby saw the mentalist focusing on Mercury before giving Yang a thumbs up, signalling that the couple safely passed the danger of the tree. Using her semblance, Ruby got past Yang and collected Mercury to plan their next attack.

Their next stop was an ice cream vendor. Ruby spied her father, pointing to the board and trying to decide what to get. In the awning just outside the door, was a large puddle just waiting for Ruby to poke a hole through it and fall them and their fresh ice cream. Only using her weapon would be too obvious. So, grabbing a rock, she got ready to put a hole in the material. When the time was right, she threw it through the air but jumped when the sound of a shot echoed, and her stone was obliterated.

Despite the sudden noise, neither Taiyang nor Cinder were fazed by it. They continued down the sidewalk with ice cream in their hands as the sun was starting to set. Looking at where the round came from, she saw Emerald holding her head in pain while Yang was hovering over her, murmuring to try and help.

Mercury saw what was happening and nodded. "She can't do more than two people at the same time without it hurting, and that one looked like it hurt a lot."

"Then that's how we get past them," Ruby said as both she and Yang saw the couple start walking up the dirt path towards their house. Ruby really did not like the implications of that action, but she needed to stop this now before her dad got hurt. She and Mercury began to head down the road towards the house, only to stop by Yang and Emerald as they blocked the path. Without missing a beat, Ruby used her semblance and jumped past Yang, only to get clotheslined onto the ground.

Looking back, she saw Yang's image disappear with Yang standing above her with a determined look on her face. "Sorry, Rubes, but this stops here," Even during this fight, Yang's attack did not hurt nearly as much as it would have if she did not soften the blow. With Emerald messing with what she can see, it will be difficult to get past them and to the house. With a kick, Ruby launched Yang off of her and charged towards Emerald with Mercury stopping Yang from helping.

Spinning in place, Crescent Rose opened up and scraped up the ground, kicking up dust and dirt towards Emerald's face. Ruby knew it was a dirty tactic and hated the fact that she had to resort to it, but without Emerald's mental interference, she now had a straight shot at the house. She heard Mercury cry out for Emerald as she shouted in pain as the dirt hit her eyes.

Leaving them behind, Ruby used her semblance to close the distance to the house and prepared to charge in and face Cinder head-on.

* * *

Taiyang's house was large, that much Cinder could see, but there was a warmth that she had never felt before. Standing in his living room and admiring all the books and little nicknacks the man collected while he went to get the wine he offered at the end of their dinner. During their first date, Cinder had planned to just scam a few free meals from him and leave him, but the longer she talked with him, the warmer and more genuine he became to her.

To think this all started because Cinder was the only one who could really go out in public after everything. Emerald's and Mercury's face plastered on every wanted board through the world, Cinder was the only one who could fetch supplies for the three of them. Missing half her face and an arm is a quick way to make people look away from her. She did not know why the two of them continued to follow her, but she was grateful for their company during this troubling time. Even more than that, she was thankful for Taiyang, he had been an unsuspecting rock for her to lean against.

Looking over to the self filled with picture frames, she saw a few baby photos of the daughters he said he had, but then her heart froze when she saw one in particular. Slowly, she reached out with a trembling hand and picked up a picture of four girls standing in a row with smiling faces. All four of them she recognized, one of them haunts her dreams. The last time she had seen Ruby Rose was months ago. They had met in the streets of a city, and Ruby had unleashed the power of her silver eyes.

Cinder remembered that day, how she could do nothing as pain wracked her body, incinerating the Grimm from her body and leaving her on the street. When Cinder woke up, she was with Emerald and Mercury in some rotting shack while they tended to her wounds. When she was well enough, they needed to leave and go somewhere that no one would know or care that they were there.

Now she was standing in the home of the father of her worst enemy.

"That's my daughters, Ruby and Yang. But you already knew who they are." Taiyang said behind her. A cold chill ran down her spine as she turned around and looked up at him.

"You knew who I was? Since when?"

"Since you told me your name," He said as he held one of the wine glasses in his hand in offering. "Ruby had sent letters and messages before with your name on them," he set the glass down when she did not take it and gently lifted the picture frame from her hand and placed it back on the self.

"So, what are you planning then?" She demanded as she began to channel her powers, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"My plan?" He asked as he took his own glass of wine and sat down in a chair. "Well, share this wine with you and listen,"

"Just like that? You're just going to listen to what I have to say?!"

He pointed at her and relaxed in his seat. "A response like that makes me think no one has given you the chance to just talk," He then sipped on the wine and waited for her to start talking. Truth be told, she had no idea where to start.

She heard him sigh, "Alright, I'll start then. Why are you on Patch?" He asked as he sat up a little bit.

"We needed someplace to lay low, somewhere that no one would look. No Salem, no Ozpin, somewhere insignificant. So we made our way to this little backwater island off the coast of Vale."

"Were you stealing clothes off clotheslines?"

"Yes,"

"Who else is with you?"

"My two subordinates,"

"Subordinate? Not friends?"

That made Cinder stop and think, were Emerald and Mercury her friends? After everything, the two could have abandoned her at any moment, but they chose not to. "I suppose they are my friends…"

"That's good, it's always good to have friends," He sipped on his wine as he watched her. Another stretch is silence, and Cinder finally relented and took the glass that was set on the self for her and sipped it. It had been far too long since she had tasted good wine, and while it was not the best, it was still better than anything she had recently.

"So, what do you want?" He finally asked.

"I wanted to be strong," Cinder began. "I wanted to be feared, I wanted to be powerful. But the more my wish was granted, the worst things began to get for me. Now I don't know what I want," Cinder finally admitted as she stared at her reflecting in the darkness of the wine.

"I'm sure you want what a lot of people want in similar circumstances," Taiyang stood from his spot and looked into her one eye. "You want a fresh start on a new life, and I'm more than willing to help you with that,"

"What?! just like that?" She could not believe what he was saying, "After everything I've done? I've killed people, Taiyang! Good people!"

"Do you regret it?" His simple question stopped her in her tracks. Faces of the people she had killed flashed before her eyes. Before, with every life she took, she would feel pressure on her. Before, she thought this was just the cost of what she did, of what she wanted, and that she was getting stronger by pushing past it. The weight was proof of her strength, but now she just felt heavy.

"Yes," She whispered finally.

"Good, because if you didn't, then you wouldn't be standing here right now," He said gently as she felt him get closer. "And that's all you need for a second chance,"

"You think I deserve a second chance?" She asked quietly, closing in on herself a little more.

"Cinder," His voice made her look into his eyes, "I wouldn't be here, wouldn't be the person I am today if I didn't believe in second chances. Summer gave Yang a second chance to have a mother in her life. She also gave me a second chance to be a father. Then after she died, Qrow gave me a second chance to be a _caring_ father. Even before that, Ozpin, the man you hate so much, gave me a second chance to be a Huntsmen that lead me to my team and closest friends. Second chances are what people need in life, and I'm more than happy to give you one too,"

She stared into his eyes and found his words to be right. She had never had anyone in her life like this before. She was merely a tool to Salem, and Emerald was just infatuated with her. She felt the sting of tears behind her eye and could not stop a few from sliding down her face. He was quick to cup her face, and the rough skin of his thumb wiped them from her cheek. "Thank you," She whispered to him.

Before anything else could happen, however, she heard a dog bark and a door slam open. Looking over to the kitchen, Cinder saw Ruby Rose standing in the doorway. Her weapon in hand and her eyes shining, ready to unleash another blast of silver light. Cinder tensed up and got ready to strike back, she would have suspected Taiyang of luring her into a trap, but the look of shock and how surprised he said her name meant he was not expecting his younger daughter either.

Heavy boot falls filled the house as Ruby made her way towards them, her silver eyes not looking away for a second. When Ruby reached her, they stared into each other's eyes. Finally, Ruby let out a breath before jabbing a finger into Cinder's shoulder, prompting her father to call her out on it, but Ruby ignored that to deliver her message.

"Don't fuck this up, Cinder." There was nothing else from Ruby as she stormed past them and out the front door. Cinder felt like a storm just passed by and felt Taiyang gently place a hand on her back as he lightly tapped his wineglass to hers, filling the silence with the chime of glass on glass.

"I think that's going to be the best you're going to get approval from her, take it as a win,"

* * *

When Yang finally caught running to the house, she saw Ruby sitting on the porch with her head in her hands. Behind Yang, Emerald and Mercury were close by as they approached the younger woman. From the window, she saw into the living room and saw both her father and Cinder still talking, even with wine glasses. Walking up to her little sister, she sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What stopped you?"

"I was right there, ready to barge in and then she started talking…"

"Yeah, that tends to happen when she does that," Mercury said as he and Emerald finally caught up. "She's very good with words,"

"But I didn't get that she was lying, Dad is really good at detecting those, believe me," Ruby said with a sigh. "She wants to start over, and Dad's letting her do that. There's not a lot we can do to stop that,"

"Maybe that's for the best, for all of us," Emerald said as she looked through the window and sighed.

"Yeah, sorry about the dirt," Ruby said finally as she stood up and stretched her back.

"It's okay, I get it," Emerald said as she waved her hand. "It didn't hurt, just sucked…"

"Well, I don't want to be here for the next few hours," Yang said as she stood up with Ruby, "I'm starving, food anyone?"

With a general agreeance for something to eat, the four of them began to head back into the city as the sun cast an amber glow across the island, when Mercury asked where they were going, Yang just grinned.

"I know a great seafood place,"

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to order something, please let me know either in the comments or on my Tumblr at AngeryFaceWritings.


End file.
